Batting maestro Virat Kohli had dropped another captaincy bombshell after Team India suffered a devastating series defeat at the hands of hosts South Africa in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship. Kohli, who was earlier replaced by Rohit Sharma as India’s new white-ball captain, had stepped down from Test captainship after the South Africa series. 

One of the finest batters in the modern era of the sport, Kohli had earlier relinquished T20I captaincy in the aftermath of India’s disastrous World Cup campaign in 2021. Kohli’s shock resignation from Test captaincy had paved the way for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to appoint veteran opener Rohit as the all-format captain of the Asian giants. 

Speaking about the changing of the guards at Indian cricket, former Team India wicketkeeper batter Saba Karim has opined that Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI was forced to change their split captaincy plans following Kohli’s resignation. Speaking on YouTube channel Khelneeti, the former cricketer and full-time cricket pundit said that Kohli was not expected to leave the leadership role in the longest format of the game. 

“BCCI was forced to change split captaincy plans after Virat Kohli’s sudden resignation from Test captaincy. Kohli was not expected to leave the red-ball captaincy and because of his resignation, India had to make Rohit Sharma the skipper across formats,” Karim said. Kohli stepped down from Test captainship after becoming India’s most successful captain in the oldest format of the game. 

Talking about Rohit’s appointment, Karim asserted that Kohli’s successor is an ideal candidate for the captaincy role across all formats. “Sharma is an ideal candidate for the leadership role and we can groom youngsters under him. Giving vice-captaincy opportunities to the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah shows that the grooming process has begun,” he added. Rohit-led Team India will play three T20Is and two Test matches against Sri Lanka in their next home assignment.